Sure, spin class feels killer, but outdoor cycling may require you to work even harder, according to a study in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Plus, “there’s something really nice about covering distance and being in the fresh air and sunshine,” says Jim Rutberg, a cycling expert for Carmichael Training Systems and Strava in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He created the 30-minute interval workout below. If you’re a beginner, try doing the workout in a loop first so you can log the distance without getting too far from home. Once you feel comfortable, turn it into an out-and-back ride and explore some new terrain.
• Six 30-second speed intervals separated by 30 seconds of easy recovery. Rev your cadence and power as you accelerate for 30 seconds, then pedal very lightly as you slow down for 30 seconds before starting the next effort. These aren’t really sprints so much as hard, seated accelerations.
• 3 1⁄2 minutes easy recovery
• 8-minute tempo interval. Effort should be a 6 on a rate of perceived exertion scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being as hard as you can go. Your breathing should be deep and controlled, nowhere near panting.
• Cool down with an easy pace for 5 minutes.
This workout burns approximately 285 calories (for a 30-minute ride at 12 to 14 mph for a 150-pound person).
Not sure how to tell if you’re biking at “easy” or “fast”? There are a lot of ways to gauge your intensity level, but you won’t always have a heart rate monitor handy. Instead, you can use a “talk test” to track your efforts.
• Talking casually: recovery pace/easy • 1 to 2 sentences at a time: endurance pace/moderate • 2 to 3 words at a time: labored breathing/hard
For timed intervals, look at a watch, or you can time the distance between landmarks, like phone poles, and use those as your markers.
In October of my junior year of high school, I was at the top of my cross-country game. I was running five to six days a week, knocking more and more time off my mile split, and gearing up for a big race that would finally prove I had what it took to hit varsity status. So when opportunities arose to run a few extra miles and push myself harder, I took them without a second thought.
Then came the day of the race. I’d been noticing some pain and throbbing in my shins for a few days, but assumed I just had shin splints—something I’d dealt with many times in the past. So before my event, I popped a couple of Ibuprofen and visualized myself totally dominating the race. Spoiler: That’s not what happened.
When the race started, I took off and headed to the front of the pack. I kept up my pace as I wove through the trail, adrenaline surging through my body. That is, until about mile 1, when my runner’s high was interrupted by an excruciating pain in my left shin.
I tried to ignore it, unwilling to give up just yet. But the pain only got worse, and soon I was limping. Girls passed me left and right, but I kept hobbling my way across the grassy path until I reached the finish line and collapsed.
Fast forward through two doctor’s visits, an X-ray, and a bone scan. The verdict was that I had seven small stress fractures in my left shin.
My case is certainly nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, ABPM-certified podiatrist Melissa Lockwood, DPM, says nearly one in five runners she sees is for a stress fracture. But why do young, healthy people end up with this injury? Here, she explains what causes stress fractures, and shares tips for preventing and treating them.
Stress fractures are characterized as “overuse injuries.” They occur when a bone experiences repeated, unusual force, says Dr. Lockwood, who’s based in Bloomington, Illinois: “For example, when runners increase their distance and speed—basically anything that changes the amount of pressure they’re putting on the body.”
Dr. Lockwood typically sees these injuries happen in the metatarsals, which are the small bones right behind your toes, and the lower leg (as in my case). According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, more than 50% occur in the lower leg.
While stress fractures are associated with running, “they can also be caused by regular force, if the bones are weakened by other problems, such as osteoporosis or another systematic problem like an eating disorder,” adds Dr. Lockwood. Research suggests women are more susceptible, possibly because they’re more prone to the above-mentioned conditions.
But really, stress fractures can affect anyone. Dr. Lockwood got one in her foot after walking around Disney World all day. (See her X-rays below.)
“The biggest thing is to watch for increased pain with increased activity,” says Dr. Lockwood. “Meaning it doesn’t hurt so badly first thing in the morning, but then the more you’re on it throughout the day, or after you go for a run, the pain gets worse, even excruciating.”
Unlike a strain or pull, the ache associated with stress fractures doesn’t tend to resolve itself after a couple of days, or go away with rest. So if you still feel a throbbing pain after sitting down, that’s also pretty good indicator.
But diagnosing a stress fracture can get a bit tricky: “Typically you can’t see a stress fracture on an X-ray until two weeks after the initial injury.” For that reason doctors often order other tests, like an MRI or bone scan, to identify the injury.
If a patient describes stress fracture symptoms, Dr. Lockwood always treats it as one, she says, unless she figures out an alternative explanation.
Once you’ve had one stress fracture, it puts you at greater risk for another, says Dr. Lockwood. [Insert un-amused emoji here] But luckily, there are a number of smart strategies you can use to keep your bones healthy.
For starters, invest in solid sneakers. If you’re a runner, head to a running store and find a pair that works optimally for your stride and foot type.
It’s also crucial to retire your shoes after a certain amount of use, Dr. Lockwood warns. Either toss them based on time (no more than 6 months) or miles (no more than 300).
And whether you’re an athlete or not, if you’ve suffered a stress fracture in the past, you may want to consider getting custom orthotics to make sure you’re moving with the right biomechanics, says Dr. Lockwood.
At the time of my own injury, I was stupidly wearing a pair of sneakers that were past their expiration date. So please, don’t make the same mistake, and actually pay attention to your shoes!
Don’t get discouraged
After my injury, I felt really down. I worried that my body wasn’t cut out for running, and that this was a sign I needed to throw in the towel.
But as Dr. Lockwood puts it, “having stress fractures does not mean your running career is over.” It may mean you need to change how you’re training, whether that’s adjusting the distance or frequency of your runs, or running on softer surfaces (think grass vs. concrete).
For me, getting back into running entailed everything Dr. Lockwood mentioned: scaling back my runs, paying better attention to my form, and regularly swapping out my shoes. Today running is still a huge part of my lifestyle. I even run-commute to work sometimes. But I’m much better about listening to my body now, and taking notice when it needs a break.
If you sense that something is off with your body, “don’t sit and wait to get it checked,” says Dr. Lockwood. “Or rather, don’t run and wait.”
Scroll through Hannah Bronfman’s Instagram feed and you’ll get a nice picture of what healthy living looks like: The 29-year-old DJ and fitness influencer regularly shares snapshots of her killer workouts and stellar skincare regimen with her 364,000 followers. (FYI: She’s obsessed with microcurrent facials.)
But these days, Bronfman’s current motivation to keep up her clean lifestyle is her wedding. She’s tying the knot with fellow DJ and social media star Brendan Fallis this weekend in Morocco.
Bronfman’s idea of wedding prep has nothing to do with detoxing, however. “There’s all this stupid pressure about losing weight for your wedding,” the HBFIT founder told The New York Times earlier this month. “I’m really not into it.”
The soon-to-be bride’s goal is to feel her best on the big day. Here are five ways she has made wellness a top priority during her wedding week.
Bronfman says she always tries to avoid dairy, but in the last few days, she’s been following a macrobiotic diet while staying at the Sha Wellness Clinic in Spain. She wrote on Instagram that this new way of eating has made her “rethink her diet completely.”
In an Instagram story, Bronfman shared this snap of her and the almost-groom getting cozy on the tennis court. Talk about a perfect match.
After slipping into some killer Adidas gear (Bronfman’s a global ambassador for the brand), she got her “om” on. Not a bad idea to get centered before the wedding craziness begins: “will try to channel the zen to calm my inner hype beast!!” she wrote.
Because no skincare enthusiast would be wedding-ready without her go-to products, Bronfman tagged two of her beauty must-haves in this snapshot she posted to her Instagram story yesterday: The Bright Eye Firming mask from Joanna Vargas ($60 for 5 masks; joannavargas.com) and KNC Beauty’s All-Natural, Collagen-Infused lip mask ($25 for 5 masks; birchbox.com).
Ever had a less-than-poised moment on a weight machine, or in a boot camp class? Hey, you’re certainly not the only one. In a recent Reddit thread titled “Stupidest thing you’ve ever done in the gym?” in the XXFitness subreddit, users revealed their most cringeworthy (and often painful) workout moments—from tripping on the treadmill to gym flirting gone wrong. Here are some of the comments that had us giggling. (We recommend you stop reading now if you’re currently on a cardio machine!)
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Uneven bar
User Sambeano made the mistake of unloading a heavy barbell on one side, but not the other: “It was resting on the safety bars at the time, at about knee height, with about 30 kgs loaded on the other side. The bar flipped in the air and crashed into a glass door frame … The crash was so loud everyone turned around to look.” Whoops.
Bike dominos
“I thought this bench near some cardio equipment was fixed to the ground for some reason and grabbed onto it to stretch my shoulders out. I flew backwards into a row of eight stationary bikes, knocking them all over like dominoes,” wrote Mpaellen.
Bottom out
Themortalvalkyrie got off a rowing machine with a bruised bum: “My butt fell off the rower. I was [trying to] do sprints and got a little too excited, and at one point I think my butt must have come up a little and the seat flew back and i came down on the bar. But it was funny.” (Another Redditer jumped in, “I wish that thing had a seatbelt!”)
From jazzehcakes: “Once I was running on the treadmill and closed my eyes to sneeze, which caused me to trip, land face first, and fly off the treadmill.”
When exercise balls attack
“I threw an exercise ball on the mini trampoline and it flung back hit my fingers, which then hit my face,” shared another Redditer. “I managed to grab the ball before it caused further chaos. Everyone around me either didn’t notice or pretended not to. I probably looked like an idiot laughing to myself.”
Is this thing on?
Reddutchess15 was new to the exercise scene when she tried out her university’s fancy gym. Feeling a bit intimidated, she decided to “start off easy on the elliptical,” she wrote. “Well, I get to the elliptical, try to push the start button, and nothing. I keep pushing the start button and nothing happens. So, I thought it was broken. Worse, I worried that I would be blamed. So I just left without doing any workout at all. It wasn’t until my friend starting making fun of this other girl for the same reason days later that I realized i was supposed to get on it first.” (Trust us, we’ve been there!)
“Tried to kill a spider while running on the treadmill,” user little—dolly posted. “I lost my balance, fell down, got my shirt caught up and ended up with two scraped knees and treadmill road rash down one side of my face. Oh, and I didn’t get the spider.”
Pee problem
“I peed myself while squatting in a busy gym,” wrote Souponastick. “That wasn’t the worst part. For whatever reason my brain decided I needed to announce it, so as I was coming up from the bottom of the squat I screamed, ‘I’M F****** PISSING MYSELF!’ Everyone looked and watched me clean up my puddle.”
“Saw a cute guy in the gym,” posted Tokyo1964. “I went to take a swig of water just as our eyes met, but accidentally squeezed the bottle slightly and sprayed it into my eye instead.”
Ripped pants
From Blaserea: “Ripped the crotch out of my shorts squatting, even heard it through the headphones.”
Fast and furious
Ever cranked up your speed on a cardio machine to clock a specific number of miles before your time runs out? Phoenixinda attempted this strategy, without success: “Last year I decided to go extra fast on the cross trainer for the last two minutes so that I could get a full 3-mile distance at the end of the 30 minutes. Foot slipped, fell between the pedals, and my foot fractured in three places. I was out for three months … I have been back at the gym, but I just can’t bring myself to even touch the cross trainer.”
Vkm5028 learned the hard way to make sure you actually know the person you’re waving at before you say hi. “Thought I saw a friend of a friend out of the corner of my eye. I was in a goofy mood, and decided to make a goofy face and wave at him. Turns out, it wasn’t the guy who I thought it was, he was on the phone whenever I made the face at him, and I found out he’s a player for the local minor league baseball team and probably thought I was fan-girling at the sight of him.”
Sweat stain
“Worn pale blue leggings,” one user commented. “It looked like I’d [peed] myself half way through my gym session.”
Stuck on you
Wearing athleisure fresh out of the laundry? Make sure there’s no other laundry stuck to it before you leave the house. “I once had a thong static-cling itself to my leggings,” MyShoulderHatesMe posted. “I was at least 20 minutes into my workout before I noticed.”
Swimming in a pool, lake, or ocean is an excellent way to exercise without feeling like you’re melting in the heat. Plus, it’s a full-body workout that is gentle on the joints. Ironman and USA Triathlon coach Heather Casey shares two quick beginner workouts, one for the pool and one for open water. Before you get started, here are a few helpful tips from Casey:
• Keep water bottles nearby. Just because you don’t feel sweaty doesn’t mean you aren’t losing fluids. • Invest in some dark-lens or reflective goggles to help block the sun and the glare from the water. • Swimming in open water? Stay safe by bringing a partner. Warm up on dry land. Remain close to the shoreline, and even if you’re an experienced swimmer, breathe every other stroke. It’s easier to become breathless in open water. If you do, head back to shore at an easy pace.
These workouts burn approximately 367 calories (a 30-minute swim for a 150-pound person).
30-minute pool workout
Interval targets are set by a rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale of 1 to 10; 10 is the hardest.
The warm up: Go for a 100-yard swim at RPE of 4 to 5, then a 50-yard swim with kickboard at RPE of 5 to 6.
The workout:
• 25-yard swim at RPE of 4; 25-yard swim at RPE of 6 • 25-yard swim at RPE of 6; 25-yard swim at RPE of 4 • 50-yard swim at RPE of 4 • 50-yard swim at RPE of 6 • Repeat these four intervals • 100-yard swim at RPE of 4 (cooldown)
Dry land warm-up: Arm circles and shoulder shrugs on shore.
Swim warm-up: 8 minutes of 1-minute out-and-back intervals from the shore at RPE of 4.
The workout:
• 4-minute swim at RPE of 4 • 30 seconds treading water • 2-minute swim at RPE of 6 • 2-minute swim at RPE of 4 • 30 seconds treading water • 2-minute swim at RPE of 4 • 2-minute swim at RPE of 6 • 30 seconds treading water • 4-minute swim at RPE of 6 • 30 seconds treading water • 2 sets of 3-minute swims at RPE of 4, treading for 1 minute in between (cooldown)
Did you catch Cher’s performance at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night? Not only did she hit the stage in a sheer, bedazzled body suit looking incredible, she dropped a little humble-brag about how she stays in such great shape. “I can do a 5-minute plank, okay?” she told the audience.
Yep, 71-year-old Cher can plank longer than most people who are decades younger. This wasn’t the only time the pop icon showed off her devotion to working out and living a healthy, active life. For further proof that Cher is a super-strong badass, check out her top five #fitnessgoals moments throughout her career.
Cher came out with a book in 1991 called Forever Fit: The Lifetime Plan for Health, Fitness, and Beauty. The epic cover photo shows her in a knotted gray t-shirt with her black boot placed on a barbell. Besides workout advice, the book featured exercise and weight loss programs, nutrition tips, and her favorite skin-care products. If her current healthy glow is any indication, she knew what she was talking about.
When she wore Spandex for her step aerobics videos
In the early 1990s, Cher released a series of fitness videos called (what else?) CherFitness. The videos featured step routines, ab workouts, and dance cardio sessions, all accessorized with black leotards and Spandex. The beginning of this step routine clip offers some major motivation and truth bombs from Cher. Our favorite: “You don’t have to start off perfect, you just have to start.” Preach!
When she killed it while keeping up with Tina Turner
Okay, so this glittery 1970s dance duet isn’t exactly what we think of as a workout today. But it takes damn hard training and effort to do these moves as perfectly as Cher and Tina do—and in heels to boot. Watch and learn, legends at work!
When she was candid about working out 5 times a week
When Cher was 67, she gave HELLO! magazine a summary of how she stays in shape. “I exercise about five times a week because it’s something I’ve always done and I just enjoy it,” she said. “I don’t like meat and so most of things that I like are healthy for you, apart from desserts. I don’t do drugs and don’t drink very often. I try to play the age card with my trainer but she just doesn’t go for it. My farewell tour was one of the longest tours ever, and I think it would be a tour that would kill a 25-year-old girl now.” Props for not pretending she doesn’t work hard at it.
During at interview with E! Online in 2010, Cher spoke about how staying in shape is more difficult now that she’s older, but she’s passionate about trying new activities to keep things fresh and exciting. “You have to work twice as hard. You have to be in the gym all the time. But I like it. When I was young I was a tomboy. I played sports . . . and I’m learning to surf right now. I like that kind of stuff, thank God.”
Christopher Martinez became involved with Push-as-Rx � in order to become stronger. Being a part of a wrestling team from a young age, Christopher experienced injuries that lead him to begin training at Push-as-Rx and with the help of Danny Alvarado and the other trainers, the strengthening routines he practiced greatly improved his performance in wrestling. Christopher Martinez is encouraged to continue coming to Push-as-Rx �, a place he enjoys being a part of.
PUSH-as-Rx � is leading the field with laser focus supporting our youth sport programs.� The�PUSH-as-Rx � System is a sport specific athletic program designed by a strength-agility coach and physiology doctor with a combined 40 years of experience working with extreme athletes. At its core, the program is the multidisciplinary study of reactive agility, body mechanics and extreme motion dynamics. Through continuous and detailed assessments of the athletes in motion and while under direct supervised stress loads, a clear quantitative picture of body dynamics emerges. Exposure to the biomechanical vulnerabilities are presented to our team. �Immediately,�we adjust our methods for our athletes in order to optimize performance.� This highly adaptive system with continual�dynamic adjustments has helped many of our athletes come back faster, stronger, and ready post injury while safely minimizing recovery times. Results demonstrate clear improved agility, speed, decreased reaction time with greatly improved postural-torque mechanics.��PUSH-as-Rx � offers specialized extreme performance enhancements to our athletes no matter the age.
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Recommend: PUSH-as-Rx ��915-203-8122
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Daniel Alvarado trains athletes to become possible champions but as part of his passion, he is aware that his athletes are constantly faced with victories and defeats. Daniel understands that life is full of ups and downs and he shares how important it is for everyone to take the time to focus on the positive aspects of life. Daniel Alvarado tells us that in order to be successful as an athlete, as a person, we have to stop dwelling in the negative, in the defeat, and have a positive state of mind. Not only will it change you, but the people all around you.
PUSH-as-Rx � is leading the field with laser focus supporting our youth sport programs.� The�PUSH-as-Rx � System is a sport specific athletic program designed by a strength-agility coach and physiology doctor with a combined 40 years of experience working with extreme athletes. At its core, the program is the multidisciplinary study of reactive agility, body mechanics and extreme motion dynamics. Through continuous and detailed assessments of the athletes in motion and while under direct supervised stress loads, a clear quantitative picture of body dynamics emerges. Exposure to the biomechanical vulnerabilities are presented to our team. �Immediately,�we adjust our methods for our athletes in order to optimize performance.� This highly adaptive system with continual�dynamic adjustments has helped many of our athletes come back faster, stronger, and ready post injury while safely minimizing recovery times. Results demonstrate clear improved agility, speed, decreased reaction time with greatly improved postural-torque mechanics.��PUSH-as-Rx � offers specialized extreme performance enhancements to our athletes no matter the age.
Please Recommend Us: If you have enjoyed this video and/or we have helped you in any way please feel free to recommend us. Thank You.
Diana Ramirez, Daniel Alvarado’s sister, has been training alongside her brother to gain strength, conditioning, and fitness. As a physical therapist, Diana knows how important it is for her to be physically and mentally strong in order to perform well in her in any given situation. For Diana Ramirez, Push-as-Rx �� has given her the opportunity to become the best person she can be, both in body and mind.
PUSH-as-Rx ���is leading the field with laser focus supporting our youth sport programs.� The�PUSH-as-Rx ���System is a sport specific athletic program designed by a strength-agility coach and physiology doctor with a combined 40 years of experience working with extreme athletes. At its core, the program is the multidisciplinary study of reactive agility, body mechanics and extreme motion dynamics. Through continuous and detailed assessments of the athletes in motion and while under direct supervised stress loads, a clear quantitative picture of body dynamics emerges. Exposure to the biomechanical vulnerabilities are presented to our team. �Immediately,�we adjust our methods for our athletes in order to optimize performance.� This highly adaptive system with continual�dynamic adjustments has helped many of our athletes come back faster, stronger, and ready post injury while safely minimizing recovery times. Results demonstrate clear improved agility, speed, decreased reaction time with greatly improved postural-torque mechanics.��PUSH-as-Rx ���offers specialized extreme performance enhancements to our athletes no matter the age.
Please Recommend Us: If you have enjoyed this video and/or we have helped you in any way please feel free to recommend us. Thank You.
Say “whiplash” and most of us immediately think about car accident. You are rear ended as you sit at a stop sign, and your head flies forwards, then backwards. It certainly does whip back and forth, so even though “whiplash” isn’t technically a medical term, it is a quite precise description of what occurs�and what can cause so much pain.
Doctors call whiplash a neck sprain or strain. Other technical medical terms related to whiplash are hyperflexion and hyperextension. When your neck whips back hyperextension is; hyperflexion is when it goes forwards.
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What is Whiplash?
Every year, almost 2 million Americans are injured and suffer from whiplash. Plenty of those injuries do come from automobile accidents, but you will find different methods for getting whiplash. You can get whiplash from:
A sports injury
A fall
Being hit or shaken
Whiplash can take days, weeks, and even months to develop. You may think that you simply are all right after having fall, a car accident, or alternative first injury. Nevertheless, slowly, the typical symptoms (neck pain and stiffness, tightness in the shoulders, etc�you will find out more about the symptoms in this article) may grow.
Thus�even should you not have pain immediately following a neck injury, you should make an appointment to see your doctor. Whiplash may have long term effects on your spinal health, and in the long term, it could be associated with other spinal conditions like osteoarthritis (bone and joint pain) and premature disk degeneration (faster aging of the back).
Your neck is one of your most vulnerable places, when your body is involved in trauma. Whiplash, the hard and fast forward-backward motion of the neck, can cause pain that could last well after other injuries have healed. It helps you to be aware of the anatomy included to understand your neck is so sore.
Anatomy of the Cervical Spine
As the physician attempts to figure out just which portions of the spinal column have been affected, whiplash could be a complex investigation. And there are a lot of complex parts to your own cervical back�the specialized name for the neck. The cervical spine begins in the base of the skull. It contains seven small vertebrae (bones), which doctors tag C1 to C7 (the ‘C’ means cervical). The numbers 1 to 7 suggest the amount of the vertebrae. C1 is closest to the skull, while C7 is closest to the torso.
In between each vertebra are rough fibrous shock-absorbing pads called the intervertebral discs. Each disc is composed of a tire-like a gel and outer band -like interior substance. The outer band is called the annulus fibrosus; the interior part is known as the nucleus pulposus.
In addition to bones and disks, your cervical spine additionally contains the upper region of the spinal cord, eight nerve roots, an elaborate system of veins and arteries, 32 muscles for strength, and numerous ligaments. For this kind of tiny area, there is certainly a whole lot to your own neck. Meaning that there are a lot of parts that can be injured when you have whiplash.
Strength, Flexibiity and Mobility of the Neck
Remarkably, the cervical spine supports the entire weight of your head, which will be generally about 8 pounds� yet no other area of the spinal column has such freedom of movement. The cervical spine can move 180� of side to side movement: 90� of forward motion, 90� of backward movement, your face in virtually every direction, and virtually 120� of tilt to either shoulder.
Unfortunately, this flexibility makes the neck very prone to injury and pain, including whiplash. Those 15 pounds are drastically chucked frontwards afterward back� that’s one important reason to wear seatbelts correctly and use airbags whenever feasible.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
IFM's Find A Practitioner tool is the largest referral network in Functional Medicine, created to help patients locate Functional Medicine practitioners anywhere in the world. IFM Certified Practitioners are listed first in the search results, given their extensive education in Functional Medicine
